E-Lottery-Jackpot.com

Check it out … while some have been saying federal online poker legislation is near death, not all are willing to abandon hope that Sen. Reid might-could have something up his sleeve so hey poker players, keep it kinda hush, yo!. Here’s American Gaming Association chief Frank Fahrenkopf on the Reno wonkcast Nevada Newsmakers (Home Base for Nevada’s #1 Political Show!) refuting the suggestion (at about 2:40) that online poker is done-for in 2012.

FWIW: Fahrenkopf’s sway in the overall-world-is-bigger-than-just-poker political discourse extends far beyond gaming, as he currently serves as co-chairman of the Committee on Presidential Debates. So that’s one to grow on, obv.

Money money money. It makes the world go round. Without it there would be no trees or air, all pigs would immediately expire, and tomatoes would turn blue. I think that’s right. Anyway, if you’re a fan of money, keep your eyes glued to this webpage because there’s a lot it floating about.

Worldwide Gambling Bonanza

Every click, stick, twist, and spin from last year has been totalled up and the results are in. The planet Earth generated $419 billion in gambling revenue, according to Global Betting and Gaming Consultants. Poker, in particular the online variety, makes up a very small component of that figure, but I don’t think it would be going out on a limb to suggest that the U.S. getting their regulatory act together might nudge it further up the list. [OnlinePoker.net]

UK Investors in for Full Tilt

After riding into the breach on a white stallion, Groupe Bernard Tapie appear to have stopped for a picnic. In case they decide to stay where they are and play Frisbee for a while, a UK private equity firm is poised to purchase Full Tilt’s old poker software. Please note, that means only the software and nothing else. They have no interest in reopening Full Tilt and are very unlikely to cover the site’s debts. That said, you would hope that the $35 million estimated price for the client would filter back into the pockets of jilted Full Tilt customers. I’m sure we can totally trust them, right? [Gaming Awards]

WSOPE 2012 Unveils Itself

I am still seething from when Caesars’ cruelly ripped the World Series of Poker Europe from my beloved London and gave it to the French, of all people. As difficult as it is to believe, the Gauls apparently did a good job last year. At any rate, the event is heading back to Cannes from September 21 to October 4 at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette and the Hôtel Majestic Barrière. There will be seven bracelet events in total, including the €10,450 Main Event. [ESPN]

Haxton vs. Isildur

I think these SuperStar Showdown things are really good fun. For the most part, internet sensation Viktor “Isildur1” Blom has outmatched the gamut of famous grinders laid before him, but this weekend’s re-match features one of his few failures. Isaac Haxton, him of the stylish glasses and funny voice, will be sitting down to play four tables of $50/$100 NLHE this Sunday. [Card Player]

Shuffle Master Buys OnGame

Failed Transformer ShuffleMaster has decided to dip his toe into the world of online gambling by purchasing the vacant OnGame network. What? Oh, apparently Shuffle Master make card shuffling machines. Anyway, since forming their unholy union last year, bwin.party have been trying hard to offload their spare network. They’ve finally managed to shift it in a deal worth €19.5 million, plus an extra €10 million if online gambling is legalized in the U.S. within 5 years. [Poker News]

Keeping it Illegal in Asia

China is well on its way to becoming the world’s largest economy and even if gambling isn’t an explicit part of their financial system, it has built itself a huge underground following. Global Betting and Gaming Consultants estimate that illegal gambling in the country is worth $15bn to $18bn. [Intergame Online]

Meanwhile in Indonesia, gambling online means risking a lot more than your bankroll. Under the infamously harsh Sharia law, those caught wagering can be whipped up to 100 times. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mafia bosses, accustomed to taking a big cut of all illicit gambling in the country, are putting pressure on online sites to shut down their operations. [Gaming Zion]

Phew, that was a big one. I’m going to lie down until next week.

The bubble is always a fun time to be part of a poker tournament. It doesn’t matter if you’re a player, an observer or a reporter, we all enjoy the drama associated with the fine line between success and disaster. There’s a small, twisted part inside all of us that derives a little bit of pleasure from pain.

In fact, if you got all of the most painful bubbles in poker history and put them together into a compilation, it would probably make pretty entertaining viewing. Or perhaps it would be more like a bad horror movie. Anyway, it got us thinking about some of the craziest bubbles we can remember.

We recalled Kia Hamadani blinding down to a single ante before bubbling the 2009 WSOP Main Event, before nervously reminding Lynn Gilmartin of the 2010 WSOP Main Event exit of Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen. Hamadani received entry into the Main Event the following year (which he turned into a nice score!), but when Guillen’s pocket aces were cracked by pocket jacks two places from the money, he’d bubbled the bubble to become the last player to go home empty-handed in the biggest event in the world. Ouch!

Of course we only have to look back at the APPT Seoul event in 2008 to provide one of the most exciting bubble periods that we’ve seen when David Saab went from hero to zero in minutes to bubble in devastating fashion.

One man among our final 29 players who is especially keen to avoid the money bubble is Malaysian Daren Yoon. At the recent Macau Poker Cup series, Yoon pure bubbled two of the side events and now lurks dangerously close to making it number three.

He was recently all in with [6d][6h] against a short stack’s [jd][js] but somehow managed to chop when the board ran out [2s][qd][2c][2d][qc].

“I really don’t mind,” quipped Yoon as we asked him if the bubble now held any fears.

When we suggested the potential for a new nickname should he fall short again today, Yoon was a little more defensive.

“Bubble King? Well they are calling me Burger King at the moment,” he chirped, in reference to a recent interview with Lynn Gilmartin discussing the food options here at the casino. “So perhaps Bubble King would be an improvement,” he added.

With the bubble about to “pop” we look forward to grabbing front row tickets to watch. One more elimination. It will be pleasure for 28, and pain for one. Popcorn please!

This fun-filled episode begins with Hollywood Dave Stann joining Bryan Micon for the first episode of DD Radio from the studio.  Epic Poker’s epic fail was discussed.  Special guest Scott Fischman joins the conversation and tells us some awesome old school crew-double-bracelet-rolling-JRB type stories.  March Madness with Menachum returns, and Pokerati Dan talks to us about some laws and shit.

I guess I’ve been somewhat slacking in the blog department. However, I’ve been fully engaged in grind mode ever since my last downswing and plan on writing an update in the very near future. In keeping with the grinding and writing theme, I’ve been trying out this new pokerchiptracker.com tool that allows me to log my day at the office. It’s pretty cool, in my opinion, because I like taking photos, I like writing, and I (sometimes) like playing poker. This thing lets me do all three at once. It also allows the user/writer to really bring the reader into the poker room with them, as well as provide for some creative opportunities.

Here’s a recent session that took me from Aria to the Palms.

Buy In @ 4:15 PM Amount: $300 Starting a sesh at the fabulous, luxurious and unrivaled Aria Resort Casino Hotel and Spa Destination Location Sensation. Gl me.

	Chip Count @ 5:34 PM Stack: $293 No hands to speak of for myself. Seat 9 got stacked and is tilty. Jorge moved to seat 2. A lady took his spot.
	Chip Count @ 6:06 PM Stack: $288 I had A10, made trip aces. It was AWESOME!

Player Opponent Board	Hand Details @ 6:22 PM Player $280 Opponent $400 Two limps and I raise QhJh to 16. Two guys on my left call, tilty kid shoves for $59, I call and the two guys call too. I bet $85 to commit myself on the flop. First guy folds and second guy calls. I shove ~$120 on the Td turn and he calls. The river bricks off and 68o scoops vs me and tilty kid. Other guy said he folded AK to my $85 flop bet.
	Chip Count @ 6:27 PM Stack: $282 Rebuy. Yay.
Player Opponent Board	Hand Details @ 6:40 PM Player $280 I open JTcc for 12, Jorge calls in the sb. He leads 15 on the flop, I raise to 50 and he calls. He checks turn, I bet 100, he thinks for a while and folds.

Player Opponent Board * * * * *	Hand Details @ 7:16 PM Player $340 I raise my third hand in a row to 12, a new player in seat 9–older guy wearing an old school Hard Rock Poker Lounge jacket–calls. I bet 17 on the flop and he calls. I decide to check the turn and he bets 35. I don’t really like this spot. I think betting is probably better than check calling. I take the latter route. I check the river and he quickly bets 85. I feel better about it now obv and call. He says “good call” and I win. Guy on my right says my turn play is bad. I say he’s probably right.
*	Chip Count @ 8:05 PM Stack: $395 Not much happening. Decent action on my table but just kind of whittling away, whiffing flops.
*	Cash Out @ 8:32 PM Amount: $384 Mehhh, rack it up. Every time I do one of these “live” blogs it doesn’t go as planned. Oh well. Moving onto the Palms! Pokerati game time.

*	Buy In @ 9:43 PM Amount: $400 Ok starting the Pokerati mixed game at the Palms. $1/$2 NL/PLO. Off we go! PS I won $130 in $1/$3NL while waiting for this game to start. Yay.
*	Chip Count @ 9:55 PM Stack: $480 Set-over-setted this poor sap. He played it well though, check calling 3 streets.
*	Chip Count @ 10:18 PM Stack: $400 Setting up an anti-flu wall because this cat on my right was full on infected. So wack.
*	Chip Count @ 10:20 PM Stack: $400 Here’s a pic of the contagion carrier. Damn, son.
*	Chip Count @ 10:57 PM Stack: $385 Was up to 500 but Dan got revenge. ~Starting stack.
*	Chip Count @ 11:30 PM Stack: $300 Flopped a wrap that didn’t materialize. Tried to set my own price on the turn and that backfired. Rabbit hunted the river which was a brick.
Player Opponent Board * * * * *	Hand Details @ 12:07 AM Player $320 Opponent $200 Button straddle is on. Cutoff makes it 17, I call and button calls. My preflop call is pretty meh but the raiser is average at best. I check the flop, cutoff bets 20, btn folds and I call. I check the turn, and the cutoff bets 45. It seems really weak with 2 flush draws out there. With my hand equity plus fold equity I make it 150 and he folds.

*	Chip Count @ 12:29 AM Stack: $390 Boy am I hungry. The only quick options here at the Palms is McDonalds. Which is very tempting…
*	Chip Count @ 12:33 AM Stack: $390 Dan has also expressed his current state of hunger. I’d just like to say how proud of him I am for not only showing up to his own game tonight, but for not leaving and potentially breaking his own game.
*	Cash Out @ 12:49 AM Amount: $359 Game broke. Pretty even keeled Pokerati session for me, never passing $100 in either the + or – side. Onto the next one! Thanks for reading, all. I love you.